Chapter 39: Prelude to War

…

I was a little surprised when Sasuke and Itachi reappeared with Obito so soon. This was my prison, after all, not Hotel Kamui. Sasuke was panting as he clutched his left eye while Itachi and Obito seemed unharmed.

"What did you want to discuss?" Obito asked.

"I want Itachi's eyes," said Sasuke.

"So you're finally ready," said Obito. "You've overused your Mangekyo Sharingan. Even with Kiyo-chan's healing, you're still nearly blind after such a short time. I trust you have no objections, Itachi?"

"None," Itachi replied, his tone and expression carefully neutral. "It's what I've wanted from the beginning."

Yeah, there weren't many reasons to turn down an increase in power.

"I'm sure our little Kiyo-chan will be happy to help," said Obito, glancing at me. His chakra rippled with what might have been annoyance, which puzzled me until I realized that this was the first time he'd seen me since I'd grown up. I usually avoided him by hiding in the bower when he came to take my brothers away, but I'd been too eager for their return this time. Judging by his reaction, he definitely remembered what had happened the last time I'd undergone a major body modification. "Though I suppose that you're not quite so little anymore. How much time do you require for the procedure?"

Minutes. Maybe less.

"...I'm not sure," I said. "Onii-chan has completely lost sight in one eye, and Nii-chan has damaged both of his eyes in a very short period of time. That might complicate things. I'd like to keep them overnight for observation if that's alright. And I'd like to have a few follow-up appointments to monitor them."

Of course that was all nonsense. I'd had years of practice healing Itachi's eyes, and with my Hashirama cells, complications were even more unlikely. I wanted them here for other reasons.

"Yes, that's fine," said Obito, clearly underestimating my abilities. He turned back to Sasuke and Itachi. "You'll need at least a week of rest before you're ready to test your new power. I will return then to assess your progress."

With that, Obito raised his hand and vanished back into the real world.

A week? Wow. He was underestimating my abilities. Not that I was complaining. Any delay that gave Naruto more time to grow stronger was a blessing.

"Okay, let's get started," I said, but before I could begin, Itachi reached up and tapped my forehead. I blinked at the gesture, which was usually directed at Sasuke. But then I felt a familiar weight of chakra pass between us.

"Keep this safe for me," murmured Itachi as Shisui's other eye joined the first.

So, he had managed to get it after all.

Even though I was the one to ask him for it, I hadn't been sure that retrieving it was possible. But, well, this was Itachi. I probably should have expected as much. I took a moment to examine the new eye. It wasn't restricted by Obito's seal, but it was still drained of power. Danzo must have used it recently so I wouldn't be able to activate it until tomorrow at the earliest. But that was fine. Using it on Obito before the war was too risky anyway.

Besides, I had another use for it in mind.

"Thank you, Onii-chan," I whispered. "He's…Danzo is really gone?"

I shouldn't have needed to ask, and yet…

"Yes," said Itachi simply. "He's gone."

I let out a slow breath. I wasn't quite sure what I felt at the news. I wasn't happy. Not really. Relieved, maybe. It felt like waking from a long nightmare even if our real problems were only just beginning.

I nodded, and I set out a life support seal with a touch before directing Itachi and Sasuke to lay on top of it.

"I'm going to infuse both of you with a small amount of Hashirama cells mostly concentrated in your eyes," I said as I got to work. "I doubt you'll be able to perform Wood Release, but it will be enough to enhance your Sharingan, bolster your natural healing, and expand your chakra reserves."

"You're certain that's a wise decision?" Itachi asked blandly. Yeah, he hadn't forgotten my last experiment with Hashirama cells either.

"I've been studying the cells while I've been here," I said. "By limiting the quantity and stabilizing them with White Zetsu material, I can safely implant them into others. Not only will they help you in the war, but Nii-chan also needs them to awaken his Rinnegan."

"How long will that take?" Sasuke asked.

I shrugged.

"Madara was an old man by the time he awakened his Rinnegan," I said. "I suspect that, under normal circumstances, it would take you about the same amount of time. It's likely that Hagoromo's power will be required to awaken your eyes early. But there's a lot to do before we reach that point. Were you able to make any progress?"

"We encountered Naruto and Kakashi after our fight with Danzo as you predicted, but there was little opportunity for discussion with Obito present," said Itachi. "I arranged for Haku to rendezvous with them at the Uzumaki shrine where he will explain the situation fully."

The fact that he'd arranged even that much in such a short time was impressive. We'd just have to hope that Haku would be able to convince them to help us. Of course, that conversation was bound to include a few questions…

"Did you tell them about me?" I asked.

We'd agreed to tell them the truth about the massacre and my reasons for joining the Akatsuki, but we hadn't decided on…everything else. I didn't want to continue living a lie, but I wasn't sure how they would react to the truth.

"Information security is a vital component of mission success," said Itachi tactfully. "They'll know the important aspects of our goals and anything relevant regarding our enemies, though not the source of the information. We would not be able to accomplish what we need to do if they didn't."

True enough.

"And as for the materials you'll need, Karin is on her way to Orochimaru's hideout," added Sasuke. "She knows where to find the genetic material, and Obito shouldn't realize the true purpose behind her mission. The real limiting factor for you is the White Zetsus you'll need for the Edo Tensei. Obito has begun to build his army, but getting them to you before the war might not be feasible."

"Probably not," I agreed. "But if you can't bring them here, then I'll just go to them. It will be easy enough with Kotoamatsukami."

Catching Obito wouldn't be hard. Since his body parts appeared in the Kamui dimension whenever he phased through an attack, all I had to do was wait around until someone tried to hit him in the head, something that wouldn't take long, especially if he fought Naruto.

I leaned back.

"Alright, I'm done," I said. "Are you in any pain?"

My brothers sat up.

"No, they actually fit quite nicely," said Sasuke with a small, slightly creepy smile. His eyes were both clear despite one of them being milky white mere moments before. It really was impressive to see what the Hashirama cells could accomplish under the right conditions. "I've grown stronger. I can feel it."

Well, I certainly hoped so.

"There is no pain," said Itachi, though he sounded troubled.

I gently laid my hands over his eyes. There wasn't anything wrong with them. They were in better shape than his original eyes at least, even if Sasuke had overextended them a bit. But I thought I knew what was bothering him. Sasuke's chakra was dark and angry, like a blade of hellfire against Itachi's warmth.

I slid an additional layer of medical chakra and a blanket of Positive Intent into Itachi's eyes, soothing them as well as I could. It wasn't perfect or permanent, but I could at least soften the jagged edges of Sasuke's chakra.

"Thank you, Kiyo-chan," sighed Itachi.

"Obito won't be back for a week which leaves us plenty of time to spar," said Sasuke, standing. A moment later, Itachi followed suit.

"Good idea," I said. "The Hashirama cells aren't the only thing I've been studying. I've been working on a variation of the Hiraishin technique that allows me to summon things that I've marked rather than teleporting to them, and I want to try it out with you two…."

They had no objection, and so we began.

Training with my brothers was…an experience. If I'd thought that Itachi and Sasuke were strong before, it was nothing compared to what they were capable of now. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was on an entirely different level from its base form. And a full week was more than enough time for the two of them to grow into their new powers. While Itachi had once struggled to perform four Mangekyo techniques in a single day, he could now cycle through at least twenty before it became a strain. Sasuke was equally enhanced and seemed to have an almost limitless supply of Amaterasu to throw around.

It also only took them three days to manifest their Perfect Susanoos. A feat that I was not able to replicate despite having both of Shisui's eyes. It seemed that only those who had awakened their Mangekyo naturally were able to use that particular technique. Thankfully, I discovered that I could Hiraishin right through their Susanoos like they weren't even there, and I could just as easily activate their Hiraishin marks to drag them to me instead. It allowed me to keep up with them at least.

We cycled through various combination attacks and teamwork exercises, and when we were too exhausted to continue, we talked strategy instead.

But although our week was productive, it couldn't last forever. Obito eventually came to take my brothers away again.

And so all I had left to do was wait…

…

"Kakashi-sensei!"

I was always passively alert for the tell-tale swirl of chakra that heralded an arrival so I was out of the bower and sprinting across the platform almost before Kakashi even had a chance to look up. With a flying leap, I wrapped him in a bear hug. This probably wasn't the wisest decision. Jumping onto a veteran ninja without warning was a good way to get panic-stabbed, but I didn't care. I cycled healing chakra through Kakashi immediately, soothing away the noticeable deterioration to his Mangekyo Sharingan. By now reversing the damage was as easy as breathing.

Kakashi stiffened briefly before relaxing and giving me an eye-smile.

"Mah, mah, you've grown up quite a bit, Kiyo," he said, ruffling my hair with one hand before reaching up to cover his Sharingan with his forehead protector.

I gave him one more squeeze before releasing him and stepping back. I shouldn't have been surprised that I no longer needed to crane my neck to look up at him, but somehow I was. Sure, he was still taller than me, but he wasn't the towering giant he'd been when I was younger.

"Sooo…" said Kakashi. "A rabbit goddess from the moon, huh?"

I couldn't suppress a small grimace.

"It's okay if you don't believe me as long as you're ready when it happens," I said.

And he would be. A good ninja was prepared for anything, and Kakashi was too skilled to ignore a warning, no matter how implausible it seemed.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck.

"It is a little hard to believe, but…I've heard of stranger things happening," he said.

"Really?" I asked, suddenly curious.

Kakashi gave me another eye-smile.

"No," he said.

I made a face at him but couldn't muster the will to be annoyed.

"I take it that this isn't a social visit?" I asked.

Kakashi's eye-smile shifted into a look of seriousness. Any levity was replaced by grim focus.

"The war is underway," he said. "A few weeks ago, Obito and your brothers targeted Nagato. He's still alive, but Obito took possession of one of his Rinnegan before retreating. Right now the situation is pretty dire. An army of White Zetsus is on the move and the Shinobi Alliance is engaging with them, but things are a little complicated. Naruto has gone to meet your brothers in battle, and Obito is on his way to fight the Five Kage."

I nodded. That was about what I'd expected. I'd hoped that the Five Kage would decide to keep the armed forces out of it, but I could see why they wouldn't be able to ignore an entire army of White Zetsus.

"Then we should get going," I said. I held out my hand. "If I can meet up with my brothers, they should have the materials I need to get us some help."

But Kakashi didn't reach out to accept my offered hand. Instead he was watching me with a searching expression.

"Before that, there is something I need to ask you," he said. "What exactly is it that you want from this war?"

I blinked.

"I want to save the world," I said slowly. That was obvious, wasn't it?

"...Is that all that you want?" Kakashi asked at length. "Do you really want to save the entire world, or are there parts of it that you want to erase?"

His question was absurd, but the seriousness of his tone made me stop to truly consider what he was asking. And when I did, when I tried to see the situation from Kakashi's point of view, I could understand why he needed to know.

What was I to him?

I was the child who had remained isolated from all my peers except for my brother…and the village jinchuuriki, the chosen weapon for my clan's intended betrayal.

I was the kunoichi who had abandoned my village to join Itachi in a terrorist organization.

I was the medic who had healed Nagato when he actively sought to destroy Konoha.

I was the ally of my brothers who had killed Danzo when he was the acting Hokage.

I was the heir to Orochimaru's cruelest technique, the Edo Tensei, and I intended to use it to revive Uchiha Madara, the Ghost of the Uchiha himself.

What kind of person must I look like to him?

"...You didn't come here to rescue me, did you, Kakashi-sensei?" I asked.

It seemed so obvious now, but I'd never even considered it a possibility. How could I when the mere thought of Kakashi and I being enemies was so blatantly ridiculous? He was Kakashi-sensei. And yet…

Kakashi's expression hardened.

"If your story is true, then attempting to revive Kaguya puts the entire world at risk," he said. "And if it's not…"

…then allowing me to revive some of the most powerful shinobi in history might be almost as bad.

"You were sent here to kill me instead, then," I guessed. He certainly wasn't here for a courtesy call. Maybe that was why Kakashi had waited so long to come here. They hadn't realized how bad things would get and had only just made the final decision to forestall any possibility of making things worse. "So, will you?"

"It was a condition for the formation of the Alliance," said Kakashi.

There was a time once, not too long ago, when I might have met those words with resignation. I'd have told him that it was okay and that I forgave him. He was only doing what he felt was right.

Not now, though.

Now I just felt annoyed.

"I didn't ask you why," I said. "I asked if you will."

He'd had the perfect opportunity when I'd so carelessly embraced him. I was vulnerable, unaware. The perfect prey for a skilled assassin. And yet here I was, still alive.

"I don't want to fight you, Kiyo," said Kakashi as he lifted his forehead protector, displaying Obito's eye. "But with the world at stake, I don't have the luxury of believing you."

My lips quirked into a small smile at the earnest solemnity in Kakashi's expression.

"Kakashi-sensei," I said. "You are my sensei. You were there to watch over me and Naruto and Nii-chan. You taught us about teamwork and friendship. You helped make us strong. I know that with the way things are now you can't believe me. I know what a difficult position you're in. I know you don't want to fight me." I paused and gave him my best smile. "But that's fine, because this isn't going to be much of a fight anyway."

And I Hiraishined to the mark I'd placed on him during training all those years ago.

Kakashi reacted immediately, his Sharingan giving him the tiniest warning. But while Kakashi was one of the fastest ninja in Konoha, I could regularly blitz all six paths of Pein. Enhancing my muscles and cloaking them with lightning allowed me to slam my palm against his chest before he could do more than twitch. From my fingers sprouted lightning-imbued sealing chains to wrap around his torso, cutting off his chakra and paralyzing him completely.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he let out a sound of muted agony.

Oh, oops.

I numbed Kakashi's whole body. The pain caused by the chakra chains wasn't something I usually had to consider. I'd mostly used them against Pein's puppet bodies. And Obito hadn't seemed bothered by them either when I'd fought him, though I supposed that that was likely due to his Hashirama cells. Kakashi was an elite jounin, and he had the associated high pain tolerance, but I didn't want him to suffer.

I wanted him to listen.

Kakashi huffed in deep breaths, watching me. I could almost see the thoughts whirling behind his eyes. He was running through every possible battle scenario. I let him because the outcome was a foregone conclusion. He'd lost the ability to win against me the moment I'd marked him. He just hadn't realized it at the time. Neither had I.

"Maybe it's true that you can't believe me even if you want to," I said. "But I don't need you to believe me. I could take Obito's eye right now and enter the battle with or without you. But I'm not going to do that because that's not what I want. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. Not even Konoha. You once told me that 'those who break the rules and codes of ninja are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' I don't care if Tsunade-sama or the rest of the 5 Kage or the entire world has ordered me to be killed. I'm not just going to lay down and die. I became a ninja because there are people that I want to protect, my brothers and Naruto and you and the rest of the world, and I will not abandon them."

Not anymore.

Even if Kakashi was here to kill me, I couldn't blame him for what he had to do. And I certainly didn't envy his position.

"I'm going to release you now," I said. "If you want to return to the battlefield without me, that's fine. I have my own way out of here. But if you want to help me…it will make saving the world a little easier."

I held his gaze for a moment longer before retracting the chains and retreating several paces. I folded my arms across my chest and settled into a relaxed pose, not threatening but not withdrawing either. I wouldn't stop Kakashi if he chose to leave, but I still hoped…

Kakashi sighed before reaching up and pulling his forehead protector down over his Sharingan.

"Ah, you really have grown up," he said quietly, almost to himself. "Well, if we're going to do this, I suppose now you'll need these."

Kakashi knelt, removing a scroll from his vest and laying it out on the ground. He slapped his palm against the storage seal, and in a large poof of smoke appeared six bound White Zetsus, a box labeled 'Genetic Material', and the Shinigami Mask.

Wait a minute. If he had all of this then…

"Kakashi-sensei, you were planning to help me this whole time?!" I shouted, exasperated.

"Mah, mah~~," he said with an eye-smile and a dismissive wave of his hand. "What kind of sensei would I be if I didn't lend a hand when one of my cute little genin needs a bit of help?" His expression shifted into something more serious. "I just needed to find out a few things first. I didn't bring any bells this time, but I was able to make do…"

Ah, so it was all a test. Yeah, that was…fair considering what I was asking of him. Helping me would be tantamount to treason, not just against Konoha but against the entire Shinobi Alliance. The best case scenario would still probably result in him being branded as a missing ninja.

"Let's start with the Hokages," I said as I opened the box.

There were five samples inside, one for each of the first four Hokages and one…for Madara. So, Karin really had managed to find them all.

"Will you be using Orochimaru's compulsion seal?" Kakashi asked. His tone was mild but still carried a hint of disapproval.

"That shouldn't be necessary," I said, taking the tissue samples for the Hokages and implanting them into four of the Zetsus. "I think that they'll want to help, but we'll need to explain the situation first. Do you think you could handle that part?"

I didn't really have the greatest relationship with Hiruzen. Not after the whole 'GET OUT!' thing. But Kakashi was Hiruzen's trusted subordinate and Minato's former student. That should hopefully be enough to convince them, and then they could help us convince Hashirama and Tobirama.

"Leave it to me," said Kakashi.

I nodded and stepped back, placing Madara's genetic material in my bag and picking up the Shinigami mask. It allowed the user to summon a Shinigami and release the souls sealed within at the cost of the user's life. While I was somewhat confident that I might be able to heal any injuries inflicted by the Shinigami, I wasn't about to risk getting my soul sealed away.

So I approached the fifth Zetsu and activated my Sharingan. Taking control of someone's body and movements against their will was an advanced form of genjutsu, but the Zetsu proved weak to my manipulations. I released its bindings, and it placed the Shinigami mask over its face before forming the hand seals of the summoning jutsu. A giant, ghostly gray-white specter appeared and sliced open its belly, an identical wound appearing on the Zetsu.

"Edo Tensei no jutsu!" I shouted, slamming my hand against the floor.

A jutsu formula spread from my palm to encircle the four other Zetsus, drawing in the blue souls expelled by the Shinigami even as the summoning Zetsu fell dead beside me. The four Zetsus writhed and twisted, their mouths open and screaming as they slowly transformed into the former Hokages. When they finally settled, all four of them surveyed the scene, seeming to take in the otherworldly nature of the Kamui dimension.

"So it's not Orochimaru this time," said Tobirama, regarding Kakashi and me with narrowed eyes and obvious distrust.

"Kakashi, what is going on?" Hiruzen asked, also looking between us. "Where are we?"

"Huh, Kakashi, is that you?" Minato asked, his momentary confusion giving way to a warm smile. "It must have been a while. You've grown up."

Yeah, there's been a lot of that going around lately.

"Hm?" Hashirama asked, squinting at Minato. "Who are you?"

"Kakashi-sensei, I'll leave them to you while I summon the last one," I said as Minato introduced himself to his predecessors. "I'll be in the bower."

"It would be faster if we explained everything at once with everyone together," said Kakashi, and while that might be true…

I shook my head.

"I want to talk to him alone first," I said.

Kakashi considered me for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, don't take too long," he said. "We don't want to be late."

I gave him a look but he just shooed me away.

I caught the last Zetsu in a genjutsu and guided it to the bower away from the others. I could feel Tobirama's gaze on my back, clearly noticing my Uchiha crest, but he didn't say anything.

When I was alone, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before producing the genetic material and placing it within the Zetsu. I waited a beat longer, not quite sure if this was really the right thing to do before I steeled my nerves.

"Edo Tensei no Jutsu!" I shouted, slamming my palm into the ground. The jutsu formula spread from my hand and encircled the Zetsu. It screamed and writhed as it transformed before settling into the body of the dark-haired Uchiha I had summoned.

He blinked, looking down at his body and examining his hands with the telltale cracks of a reanimation jutsu. He reached up to touch his face, his fingers ghosting along eyesockets that should have been empty before focusing his attention on me.

"Who are you?" he demanded warily.

I took another deep breath before meeting his gaze.

"...Hello, Shisui-nii-san…It's me…your Kiyo-hime."

…